Death of the Party
Sneak preview of a track from the upcoming Keene Brothers record:Death of the Party
I'm way biased, but this album exceeded my expectations, which were pretty lofty. If anyone bothers to listen to this track, I'd like to hear your opinion.
POSTSCRIPT: Come on, people. I know there are at least two of you who check in here every once in a while. Listen to the song, even if you don't like/care about Pollard or Keene. I want some feedback on this.
posted by MH at
3:26 PM
4 Comments:
Sorry so slow, I've been laid low....
I've probably listened to it through about six or seven times now. That's a really strong melody, a sweet guitar part and overall tasteful instrumentation. The lyric is still too elliptical and obscure for me to take much from it (I say 'still' because I feel frustrated by Pollard's later efforts for this very reason). It has a nice vibe but it's still too weird to sing along with.
I would guess that "Death of the Party" somehow refers to the end of his band. Shall I read this as a vague emotional reaction to it? "Exodus slow to the steeple (?)..."
By
Elbo, at 12:01 PM
On continued reflection and further listening, I'm starting to wonder whether any single GbV song has ever made me feel its pull, all by itself. They're much more about cumulative effect to me. I mean, if someone just laid "My Valuable Hunting Knife" on me all by itself, I can imagine myself dismissing it as hooky but fairly thin material. But in the context of Alien Lanes, it's clearly a bright spot in a torrent of (mostly) very good, revealing ideas. So I imagine the entire Pollard/Keene record will be worth the time, if its peaks are as good as this.
By
Elbo, at 2:58 PM
I knew I could count on Paul for some thoughtful analysis. My thanks to him.
The rest of you? Eh.
What I love about the Keene Brothers is that while it certainly falls within the broad realm of their usual output (Tommy in particular), the result is material that is often much different than expected. As some articles have said, it's essentially a Keene record with Pollard vocals. Heaven to my ears. I would understand if people didn't hear it that way, though.
By
MH, at 3:09 PM
I like it good enough. Is the rest of the album this mid-tempo? It sounds like GBV (duh) with a hangover. Admittedly, I'm historically more fond of the GBV/Pollard songs that really move. Things like "Chasing Heather Crazy," "Tractor Rape Chain" or "Skills Like This." So it might not be fair to ask a guy like me. But I think it's good.
By
Jeff, at 2:58 PM
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